By Sajeev K Peter

KUWAIT: Vaccination is a critical tool to tame COVID-19 strains, a panel of eminent doctors said on Saturday during a symposium on 'Combating COVID-19 Variants' organized by the Indian Embassy in association with the Indian Doctors Forum (IDF). Panelists comprising Dr Arijit Chattopadhyay, Dr Saroj Bala Grover, Dr Varkey Alexander and Dr Shanthi Alexander presented diverse aspects of the pandemic and answered questions from the public. Dr P Shankar Narayanan Menon moderated the symposium while IDF president Amir Ahmed introduced the panelists.

"We want to tame the virus so that it becomes like a flu virus and the COVID-19 pandemic will become endemic," said Dr Grover, underlining the importance of vaccinations. "Without vaccination, more people will get sick, some more serious, and some will die, which will adversely affect the community. Also, we need to create herd immunity," she said. "The emergence of new variants is the price we will pay for not getting vaccinated," she said, commenting on vaccine hesitancy among some people across the world.

Up-to-date

During the presentation, Dr Grover sounded an optimistic note. "Fortunately, Kuwait is in an advantageous position today to face the challenges posed by Omicron or other new variants, as its population is largely 'up-to-date' with the vaccines and more than 75 percent of the people have taken at least two doses of vaccines. There is light at the end of the tunnel, so hang on," she concluded.

While discussing the critical issues involved in the management of COVID-19 in the light of the Omicron variant, Dr Chattopadhyay said: "In the evaluation of multiple variants, Omicron has emerged as the most dominant strain today. All over the world, it is a variant of both concern and interest. Although it spreads fast, the variant has a short mutation period and a short contagion period." He added "among vaccinated people, the impact of the virus will be less severe," quoting data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US.

Dr Varkey Alexander said vaccination is an effective means to combat the virus, adding that Omicron will be mild on vaccinated people. While talking about COVID patients in isolation, Dr Alexander said: "They need good care and treatment. Their oxygen saturation level needs to be constantly monitored to make sure that they do not need hospitalization, particularly people with significant comorbidities."

Dr Shanthi Alexander voiced concern over the recent spike in COVID-19 cases among children in Kuwait. She pointed out that school-going children are undergoing tremendous mental stress in this time of the pandemic. "It is imperative on the part of the parent community, teachers and school managements to ease the psychological stress and tension on our children," she added.

Earlier, Indian Ambassador Sibi George inaugurated the symposium. In his address, he spoke about the India-Kuwait partnership in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighted the importance of adherence to COVID-19 guidelines by each and every Indian national in Kuwait.

"I urge all members of the Indian community in Kuwait to strictly follow the COVID-19 guidelines set by the Kuwait government. We in the embassy will organize all our events only virtually until the situation improves," he said. The ambassador thanked IDF for being at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic in Kuwait. The panel discussion by experts generated a tremendous response, with hundreds of people from different walks of life in Kuwait participating virtually.